Jury convicts three in home invasion trial

A jury Thursday convicted three people accused of breaking into a Gatlin Drive home and later sending a victim to withdraw thousands of dollars from a bank.

The Davidson County Criminal Court jury found Elza Evans, 41, Emily Turner, 35, and Gregory Mathis, 38, guilty of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary in a February 2009 home invasion.

The three broke into the home and duct taped the homeowner before driving his fiancé to a bank to withdraw the money. While inside the bank, the woman alerted bank employees to the situation, and police responded to the home where they captured Mathis and Evans.

The police investigation at the time found that Turner planned the robbery with Mathis, who enlisted the help of Evans.

Turner also told her boyfriend Danny Samms, 28, about the plan, which involved Turner spending the night with the victims at the home and leaving a backdoor unlocked for Mathis and Evans.

The three forced the homeowner to write two $9,000 checks, which Turner and the female victim were to cash at the bank.

Samms, who called to tell Mathis and Evans that the police had been called, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the crime. All four are to be sentenced next month.